30-Day Song Challenge, Day 29 - A Song from Your Childhood

When I was in second grade, my mother had to go to California for a while to stay with her mother, who was ailing. Since my sister and I fought all the time and my dad would have to deal with that on top of working full time, they sensibly decided to leave the older child (her) at home with him and to take the higher-maintenance baby (me) to California with her. I was an intrepid child anyway, so this delighted me. I also got my mom all to myself, which further delighted me.

So I started the school year in California, had Halloween there, and my birthday, and although I don’t remember Christmas (my parents might have decided to wait to celebrate that as a family), I do remember attending the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, which is held on New Year’s Day, I believe. Mom got things sorted with her mother and we returned home to West Virginia for the second semester of school, whereupon I met Corey, a girl who was newly arrived from Florida. We became pretty much best friends instantly.

Corey had a fun family: no siblings, but an adorable, boho mom and a stepfather named Eddie who was born without arms but compensated with his chin and shoulders and feet—he even drove a specially-equipped car with his feet! I used to love to hang out at her house, and one of the albums we both loved to listen to was Discovery, by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). The whole album was great, but the song “Last Train to London”, with its distinctive, vaguely-Arabic-feeling intro and its hypnotic beat, was one of our favorites. Corey and I were pretty much inseparable until she moved back to Florida after 8th grade. We still exchange Christmas cards, but I wish we could hang out like we used to, listening to music and talking about everything. Here’s to you, Corey!

Listen to Last Train to London

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30daysongchallenge

Here's the last one, in case you missed it!

Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty

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